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Passive suicidal ideation is something many of us will experience at some point in our lives, but it’s something that is very rarely spoken about.
When you’re feeling suicidal, it can feel overwhelming. It may feel like you have no other option than to act on these feelings. That there’s nothing that will make the thoughts or feelings go away. Or that it’s the only way the pain will stop.
We talk a lot about how to start conversations about suicide, and for good reason. Knowing how to ask the question, ‘Are you thinking about suicide?’ can be a life-saving skill.
Suicidal thoughts and feelings can feel overwhelming and isolating: however, these thoughts won’t last forever, even if you feel that they are impossible to escape.
Here’s how you can prepare for the conversation:
Practise what you will say.
Tell them why you are concerned, and what has prompted you to ask the question. Find out more information on some of the signs of suicide. Be honest about your reasoning, so they know your concerns are genuine, ‘I’ve noticed you’ve been quite withdrawn recently’.
Suicide is a difficult and painful subject to talk about. This book is written to raise awareness and encourage prevention. Some of what you read may feel upsetting or triggering, especially if you have personal experience of suicidal thoughts, attempts, or loss. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed while reading, it is important to pause, look after yourself, and speak to someone you trust.
Suicide is when someone ends their own life. It’s a very tragic response to difficult situations and feelings, perhaps most tragic because it is preventable. Thousands of people in the UK end their lives by suicide each year.
Having suicidal thoughts doesn’t mean that someone has a mental illness, but there is a connection between mental ill health and suicidal thoughts.
In 2024, there were 7,147 deaths registered in the UK where the cause was recorded as suicide. This was an increase of 1.3% (94 deaths) compared with the previous year. The number of deaths has generally been following an upward trend in recent years following a long period of decline between 1981 and the early 2000’s. This has also been a period of population growth, the number of deaths in the UK presented here have not been adjusted for population changes.
ChatGPT has introduced a new tool to alert parents if their children try to discuss suicide or self-harm with its AI chatbot.
In 2022, 5,017 young people aged 15–29 years died in the EU as a result of intentional self-harm. Compared with 2011, it indicates a decrease of 20% (-1,248 deaths). Data show that in this age group of 15–29 years, more than 1 in 6 deaths were registered as intentional self-harm, while for the total population, the weight of self-harm among other causes of death was 1 in 100. For young people, it was the second most prominent cause of death, following accidents
Last weekend, I was catching up with an old friend, who we’ll call Glenn, and, as usual, the topic landed on fly fishing. He was telling me how Silver Creek, a river near him in Idaho, just wasn’t producing as it had been. Glenn never felt he dialed in this rather technical stream until someone introduced him to Colin (name disguised), a young man who knew the nuances of fishing this blue-ribbon water that Hemingway himself frequented.
What are suicidal thoughts?
Suicide is the act of intentionally taking your own life.
Suicidal thoughts can mean:
Some of us use the phrases ‘suicidal feelings’ or ‘suicidal ideation’ to describe these experiences.
Suicide represents one of the most complex and heartbreaking challenges in public health. One major difficulty in preventing suicide is knowing when someone is struggling.
Suicidal thoughts and behaviour can come and go quickly, and they’re not always present when someone sees a doctor or therapist, making them hard to detect with standard checklists.
Suicide rarely comes with no warning signs at all but it can be difficult to recognise them for what they are at the time they’re happening.
When someone is contemplating suicide, their words and actions can give you clues that they are at risk of hurting themselves.
A death by suicide is devastating for those affected. While rates of suicide are highest in middle age, and particularly in men, there have been concerning increases among children and young people over recent years. The UK government has committed to reducing the number of deaths by suicide, with children and young people identified as a priority group for support in the national suicide prevention strategy for England.
Almost two-thirds of UK adults believe young people are facing more challenges than their parents’ generation, according to a survey.
It comes amid a call to action from the Campaign Against Living Miserably (Calm) to tackle suicide rates among young adults.
The British comedian and TV host Romesh Ranganathan has said that he used to ‘fantasise’ about suicide and ‘came very close’ to taking his own life.
‘What I want to get across to parents, is that this could happen to anyone,’ the mother of Florence Newson says.
It has been over a year since her 13-year-old daughter took her own life after a day at school, taking her family, school friends and teachers completely by surprise.
The end of the 20th century was a particularly grim period for Finland. Suicide rates were among the highest in the world, peaking in 1990 with over 30 deaths per 100,000 citizens, compared with a European average of ten per 100,000.
Suicide is a sensitive subject that is often avoided due to the stigma surrounding it. However, having open and direct conversations about suicide is vital. We must bring this taboo topic out of the shadows in order to help those who are struggling with thoughts of ending their own lives. Though it may be an uncomfortable conversation, it’s essential that we get past the stigma in order to offer hope to those experiencing suicidal ideation. Reaching out can make all the difference in saving someone’s life.
